Bob Parsons Alberta. wrote:the `08 vintage is downtown for $25 so will pick one up shortly.

Out of curiosity, is that the regular or the Tardive? The 08 regular is selling for $15 around here. But, regardless of the details, even $25 is a good deal for wines of this quality. 08 was of course a much different vintage than 09, but every year has something to offer!

Beaujolais Le Cambon 2008 – Château Cambon vinifié par Marcel Lapierre – Alc 14%. According to a Google search, this cuvée is made from 80 year old vines and the principles of grape cultivation and wine-making are identical to those of Lapierre’s own estate. The back label does not specify without sulphites and filtering but I think that this is implied by “this wine must be kept at a temperature inferior to 14°C”.

The first striking thing about this wine is its pale colour and the second, but more important, is its aromatic purity. Body is light but the wine is mouth-filling and deliciously fruity with light red fruit, especially strawberry, and there is enough light structural grip and smooth acidity to ensure liveliness. It is supremely moreish and wears its 14% alcohol with grace; 16/20.

This is just the sort of light red which I am looking for to pair with salads and cold meat and charcuterie dishes. The fly in the ointment is the need to keep it at less than 14°C which my cellar can only guarantee in the winter.

BTW my French reference books speak very well of Hubert Lapierre at Chénas and Moulin-à-Vent. Has anyone here had these wines?

Bob Parsons Alberta. wrote:the `08 vintage is downtown for $25 so will pick one up shortly.

Out of curiosity, is that the regular or the Tardive? The 08 regular is selling for $15 around here. But, regardless of the details, even $25 is a good deal for wines of this quality. 08 was of course a much different vintage than 09, but every year has something to offer!

It is the regular cuvee Rahsaan, and yes the `08 vintage. I see there is quite a discussion on the VT on another board.

Re-arranging the cellar last week, I made the happy discovery of six bottles of 2006 Pascal Aufranc Juliennas and promptly popped one for a dinner of Blanquette de Veau. The perfumey nose was so exhilarating that, I regret to say, we got right into it and drained the bottle before dinner ever got put on the table. We had a glass of something else with our meal. We drank the wine out of narrow red wine glasses.

Last night we had the leftovers of that wondrous blonde stew which I'd repurposed with a handful of fresh tarragon and more mushrooms, and so we went back for another bottle of the Pascal. This time we used Riedel burg bowls, the one they call the Oregon Pinot glass.

The comparison proved to me what I'd observed before about drinking bojo: the bigger the glass, the bigger the wine. Maybe it's actually bottle variation but I'd have called Saturday's bottle beguilingly feminine and strawberryish, barely medium bodied. Last night's was medium plus--not full bodied, but richer, more raspberry and a bit of black cherry too, more layered across the midpalate, more grip, more everything. Definitely a wine to remind me once again how stupid I am to not buy more of these wines. Maybe this time I'll remember.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

'05 Ch Thivin Cote de Brouilly Thought it was time to give this a try. Dark in the glass with medium body when first tasted. Ripe dark fruit, some earthiness, spices and with a long finish. Not a typical gamay flavor, somewhat more like a So Rhone. Know that sounds strange but not in a bad way. The wine was somewhat restrained and closed the first day. Finished the wine the second day and it had smoothed out and IMO improved. Guess it either needed decanted or needs a few more years in the cellar. Walt

wrcstl wrote:Ripe dark fruit, some earthiness, spices and with a long finish. Not a typical gamay flavor, somewhat more like a So Rhone.

Brett?

For sure no brett. Just an enjoyable wine that was somewhat different. I am more used to brighter fruit but I liked this wine. In the midwest Beaujolais is hard to get and usually looked down on. DeBoeff (sp?) and nouveau has ruined its reputation. Usually buy BOJO at CSW but this one was available in St. Louis.Walt

Ok. When I hear 'earthy' and 'Southern Rhone' I usually think brett. But I guess dark with lots of earthy tannic structure also describe 2005, which was not a 'typical' Beaujolais year. Alas I do not own any of the wines, but all these reports make me jealous!

Picked this up at a local market yesterday, beguiled by the rustically elegant label--a yellowed antique shade of off-white with simple black print--and no-foil-cap packaging. How good was it? Delish, I'd buy again; a bit monochromatic and lacking the perfume of the Pascal Aufranc we had last week, but richer than the Pascal too in a way that went quite well with the grilled sirloin burger and cherry tomato salad that was our dinner. In fact, it was the tomatoes, tossed with but olive oil, salt and good red wine vinegar, that made the match, as there was a slightly green, tomato-leaf element (like I find in a lot of Santa Barbara pinots) to the bojo that reached out to them.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

2009 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie Cuvée TardiveOh yes. The aromas and flavors remind me very much of the basic bottling but there is the extra weight, intensity, and midpalate richness. I see why folks have been so impressed with this wine, and it is certainly a joy to behold. All things considered I got more immediate pleasure from the basic bottling, but despite the brooding potential seeping out of this wine, I wouldn't call it "difficult". It's certainly not too tannic or disjointed or primary. It's fun and it hums across the palate, although the basic bottling seemed to sing out for joy. Either way, you can't lose.

Clos de la Roilette 2002 FleurieDo minerals have aromas? Perhaps not, but I swear that's what I smelled when I opened this, lots of different minerals like granite and stone, mixed with some herbs, a few flowers and complex red fruits. The palate follows with terrific red fruit, tons of minerals and some herbal elements. With crisp acidity and a slightly grainy texture, this is complex and delicious, and makes a very fine match with a zucchini/onion/basil/provolone/parmesan omelette. Three days later, the nose is more muted and the palate has a bit less fruit but the minerals are right there in the forefront and there is also a dark earthy character. Interesting, significant tannins remain on the finish. Very enjoyable in a stony, less-fruited style and an excellent match with tabouleh and hummos. Two more days later, I'm still enjoying it with bright, complex red fruit and minerals. Excellent match with leftover grilled sockeye. It's great now, but in no danger of going over the hill and I might give my one remaining bottle another year or more to see how it does.

I associate Chiroubles with approachable, charming wines with silky texture and fine red fruit flavours and have particularly affectionate memories of bottles drunk in Paris brasseries when I lived there in the early 60s. Alas, this one was not like that; it was robust and the only one of those qualities was red fruit with raspberry hints. However, this was overwhelmed by surprisingly hard liquorice tinged tannic structure and by coarse and faintly oxidative hints on the finish which are surprising from a producer as technically slick as Duboeuf. It is just possible that this may show better with more time though nearly one year out is usually a good moment for approaching Chiroubles. I won't be buying any more; 14/20.

Robin started us off with 2008 Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages.I found the 2009 vintage on sale at the grocery store for $9.99. Imported by Kobrand Corporation. 12.5% alcohol by volume. Deep ruby color with slight transparency. Juicy, very primary flavors--maybe some raspberry and blackberries in the mix. Not dainty, but appealing. Slight bit of tartness on the finish. Very good QPR. I had it with sloppy joes and another night with turkey and noodles. I was out for dinner two nights after opening the bottle, but it held up pretty well in the refrigerator, even on the fourth or fifth night.

I tried a wine shop near my home for a Beaujolais Cru but the only one on hand was the 2007 Drouhin Moulin a Vent that i reported on late July. If I get to Raleigh before the end of the month (not looking likely) I will try to pick up at least one Beaujolais Cru that hasn't been chronicled yet.

Tasty core of cherry and raspberry in the nose and mouth, with a touch of spice. Very smooth going down. It was a nice match with a somewhat eclectic meal of tuna pasta, with baby octopus and edamame sides. Very moreish, and I'm looking forward to trying the other cru Beaujolais (Côte de Brouilly and Moulin-à-Vent) I picked up at the same time as this wine.

This one was much better than last night's Chiroubles from Duboeuf and restores my confidence in 2009. Quite deep colour with purple tints. Aromas of red fruit (like red currant) and stony minerals and a medium bodied palate with some roundness and depth, crisp moreish acidity, a touch of salinity, good supporting structure without the aggressive tannins of the Duboeuf Chiroubles and good space for development and retro-olefaction of the aromas. Being Morgon there should be ageing potential but it is very nice now if not having quite the magic of the Lapierre; 16/20.

(I am somewhat puzzled about this vigneron, who claims organic methods close to organic without using the name. First, I find no mention of him in any of my French reference books, including the fairly comprehensive Hachette, which surprises me given the quality (see also Améthystes below). Second, a Google search reveals apparently two distinct estates of exactly the same name, this one in Villié-Morgon and another in Vauxrenard, which produces Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie and Beaujolais Villages (NB several estates with the same family name are common in wine growing but with these two both the first and family names are identical). To complicate matters further one of the Michel Guignier, I think the Villié-Morgon one, runs a négociant business called Domaine des Améthystes and here is a note from May last year on one of their wines.)

2009 Marcel Lapierre Morgon (The Kermit Lynch bottling with sulfur for those who keep track.) Really fantastic; starting with a core of deep red fruited flavours on an incredibly elegant, silken textured frame and opening out aromatically with time as floral aspects, anise and touches of earth emerge around the fruit. Very ripe but carries itself with a sense of lightness and precision with tremendous length and persistence. Need to load up on this.